$8 million roads plan proposed

WINSTED — During the Board of Selectmen’s meeting on Monday, June 20, Public Works Director James Rotondo presented the Board of Selectmen a proposed capital plan for repairing several roads and bridges, repairing drainage issues and purchasing construction equipment for the town.The capital plan, as proposed at Monday’s meeting, would cost the town an estimated $8,761,000.In the plan, $4,317,000 would go for bridge repair, $3,254,000 for road repair, $450,000 for equipment purchases, $450,000 for drainage repair and $290,000 for the purchase of a salt shed.According to Rotondo, 13 roads identified in the plan were picked as being “the worst of the worst” in town.“I wish I could have put more roads [in the plan],” Rotondo said. “We’re trying to fix the biggest problems in town. It’s getting to the point that we can’t plow some of these roads because we’re plowing away the asphalt and getting to [the road’s] base. The road is crumbling beneath us.”The roads identified by Rotondo as being “the worst of the worst” include Newfield Road, Holabird Avenue, Stonehouse Road, Litchfield Avenue, Williams Avenue, Perkins Street, Fruit Street, Morgan Drive, Lakeview Road, White Street, Nanni Drive, Mountain View Terrace and Gillette Road.Rotondo identified Holabird Avenue as the only road which needs total reconstruction, which would cost $2.5 million.In total, approximately 47,218 square yards of town road would be involved in the proposed capital plan.Only three bridges are up for repairs in Rotondo’s plan: West Road Bridge, Sucker Brook Road Bridge and Holabird Avenue Bridge.The most expensive bridge to repair in Rotondo’s plan is Holabird Avenue Bridge, which would cost $3 million or approximately 69.5 percent of the $4,317,000 allocated for bridge repair.As for repairing drainage issues, Rotondo noted that components of the town’s drainage structure are extremely old and not well documented.“Additional investigation needs to be done on all the town’s drainage systems to create a drainage program,” Rotondo said to the selectmen.Drainage projects Rotondo proposes in the capital plan includes culvert replacements on Litchfield Street and Platt Hill, the potential replacement of drainage pipe on Oakdale Avenue and upgrades to catch basins along Highland Lake.Rotondo said that the Oakdale Avenue drainage system needs to be further investigated and any kind of repair or replacement work on the system may cost more depending on the system’s condition.As for the town’s fleet of construction equipment, Rotondo proposes to purchase a roadside mower, two snow plow trucks and a one and-a-half ton bituminous roller.In his report, Rotondo cites that the town’s current roadside mower is 22 years old and inoperable, the average age of the town’s snow plow trucks is 11 years and the town’s bituminous roller is over 25 years old and obsolete.Finally, Rotondo asks for a salt shed replacement because the shed is extremely undersized and its current configuration promotes waste.“We’re not asking for the selectmen for any formal approval of this plan tonight,” Town Manager Dale Martin said. “We’re just trying to keep this process moving.”Mayor Candy Perez said that the town should look at other surrounding towns and communities to see how they have funded similar bond packages.“Everybody who drives on these roads knows that they have to be fixed,” Perez said. “If we don’t fix these roads, we’ll have to start closing them, and we don’t want to do that.”While he was not present at the meeting, Selectman Glen Albanesius read a letter into the minutes written by Selectman Ken Fracasso.“While I support the need to address the repair of town roads, I am extremely concerned about how to fund these programs,” Fracasso wrote in his letter. “The fact that the town does not have a completed audit for fiscal 2009-10 will hamper us from moving forward for any project that involves bonding. The reason why we do not have a completed audit is because the Board of Education has failed to do its job and is presently on its sixth extension [from completing an audit]. We may not be able to fund both our schools and roads.”During public comment, resident Alan DiCara urged that the town undertake road repairs as soon as possible.“It has gotten to the point where these roads need emergency action,” DiCara said. “We have to get started on these projects and we can’t wait until next year. These potholes on these roads are a threat to human health and safety. God forbid someone flies off the road in the fall or winter because of these road conditions.”

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